Jared Leto to Star in the Next Installment of Disney’s “Tron”

Jared Leto’s latest project is revving up…

The 48-year-old part-Spanish Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman will star in the next installment of Disney’s sci-fi franchise Tron.

Jared Leto

The film will be directed by Garth Davis, who directed the critically acclaimed 2016 drama Lion, which received six Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture

Jesse Wigutow wrote the most recent draft of the script. Leto is producing along with Justin Springer and Emma Ludbrook.

The original 1982 film starring Jeff Bridges was set inside the computer program called the Grid, where a computer hacker is abducted and forced to participate in gladiatorial games. The film wasn’t a hit and received mixed reviews, even though its special effects were seen as game-changing at the time. The cult following that swelled around the film in years to come as it played on cable only helped grow its popularity, to the point where Disney decided to move forward with a sequel, Tron: Legacy, in 2010, with Bridges reprising his role and Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde joining the franchise.

That film did go on to have box office success, bringing in $400 million globally, but even so plans for a sequel were pushed while Disney figured out how to move the story forward. 

The studio eventually scrapped plans for a direct sequel to Tron: Legacyand has been taking time to figure out next steps for this project.

Leto, who earned an Academy Award for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, will next be seen in Morbius and The Little Things. His previous credits include Suicide SquadBlade Runner 2049Phone Booth and Panic Room.